While it didn’t boldly go where no one had gone before, the YF-118G took to the skies a total of 38 times, and it was used to determine ways to make aircraft less observable not only to radar but also to the eye.

Sci-fi fans should also appreciate that the experimental craft was tested at the top-secret “Area 51,” where it made its debut flight in 1996. The ship has been a fan favorite, which explains why a very real yet experimental aircraft developed by McDonnell Douglas and Boeing in the 1990s received the moniker “Bird of Prey.” Unlike the Klingon ship, the Boeing YF-118G doesn’t feature a “cloaking device” to make it invisible to the naked eye as well as scanners, yet the black project aircraft was in fact developed to demonstrate stealth technology.Īs part of a secret project that ran from 1992 to 1999, the single-seat aircraft was actually a demonstrator used to test “low observable” stealth techniques as well as new methods of aircraft design and construction. It was first introduced in the 1984 film Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, and has appeared in five of the films and frequently appeared in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine. The YF-118G, explained: The Paramount+ streaming service could practically rebrand itself “ Star Trek TV” – although it is also the home to the acclaim Yellowstone prequel 1883. Fans of the Star Trek series are likely familiar with the Klingon “Bird of Prey,” which remains one of the most common fictional starships to appear in the franchise.

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